The Cowboys will plummet from a summery 27 degrees in Townsville to a freezing seven when they run onto Canberra Stadium on Friday.
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But Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart says the North Queensland side have far too many representative players for that to affect them.
That doesn't mean the Cowboy's Canberra reception will be any less frosty though as the Raiders look to warm up their loyal fans by turning around their home form.
The Green Machine have lost their past two games at Canberra Stadium by a combined total of 68 points and were desperate to atone.
Stuart warned against the Raiders relying on rapidly dipping mercury to help them rectifying that.
"That won't affect them. They've got a lot of experienced players, a lot of representative players who have played in adverse conditions," he said.
![Both Joe Tapine and Ricky Stuart said Canberra's cold won't win them the game. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Both Joe Tapine and Ricky Stuart said Canberra's cold won't win them the game. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/a5136ddf-c88c-4954-9352-f3d76037b0f4.jpg/r0_99_3194_1895_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"That won't affect them. We certainly won't be looking at the weather to give us any break.
"We're playing against a very, very good football team with a lot of representative players who are there for a reason - because they're very, very good players."
Raiders prop Joe Tapine said the cold gave them a "little edge" against visiting teams, but also warned it wouldn't win them the game.
He said their focus was on turning their own performance around given their recent form at home.
While they've lost the past two, they won their opening three home games of the season.
The Cowboys come to Canberra with a chip on their shoulder off the back of a 30-point thrashing by the Warriors - and also be buoyed by winning their past four against the Raiders.
"It's a little edge and a lot of teams don't like coming down to play [here] - especially the Cowboys, it's hot as up there and they're coming down to the freezing cold," Tapine said.
"That's not going to win games, but it's a little advantage we have.
"We've been pretty poor at home the last couple of games and the Cowboys are an unpredictable team who can shift the ball so we've just got to focus on us and make sure we do the little things right."
Trey over the Moon about re-signing
Trey Mooney could have chosen the easy option, but instead decided to continue his apprenticeship with two of the world's best props.
The Canberra Raiders announced Mooney's re-signing on Wednesday after The Canberra Times revealed he'd agreed to a three-year extension after weighing up his options.
He wanted to see how he fitted into Canberra's prop pecking order before committing to remain in the capital long-term.
It's a big boost for the Green Machine ahead of their crucial clash against the Cowboys at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
He's established himself on the Raiders bench this season, having played the past seven NRL games.
The 22-year-old asked to play NSW Cup last weekend to get big minutes under his belt - rather than have the weekend off for the bye.
![Trey Mooney has signed on until 2027. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Trey Mooney has signed on until 2027. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/7562dc8a-2225-45f3-b0bd-c0133c26db92.jpg/r0_292_3202_1694_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
![Trey Mooney has signed on until 2027. Picture by Keegan Carroll Trey Mooney has signed on until 2027. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/061b4e3d-3aec-40dc-bb6e-47a7e240c503.jpg/r0_279_5466_3364_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He got through the full 80 minutes as the Raiders stormed back from 14 points down at half-time to beat the Western Suburbs 22-20.
Mooney wanted to keep working with the likes of Josh Papali'i and Joe Tapine - two of the best props in the world - with the view to becoming their long-term successors.
"Re-signing was a big decision, especially for me and my family, but at the same time I wanted to not only be at a club where I was going to play first-grade, but at a place I thought was going to push me and challenge me to be the best first-grader I can," Mooney said.
"If that means sitting behind guys like Paps and Taps, and really push myself outside my comfort zone and make myself a better first-grader then that's what I had to do."
He wants to be part of the next batch of big boppers to lead the Green Machine - along with the likes of Ata Mariota and Pasami Saulo.
"There's a few young boys here and we're just trying to build something for the future," Mooney said.
"Guys like me, Ata, Pasami and some other boys we really feel like we can be in a few year's time those forwards at the club.
"We hope to keep learning, keep putting our best foot forward and keep developing."
The decision drew praise from Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, who felt Mooney could have easily walked into the starting side at other NRL clubs.
Teams like the Wests Tigers would be on the lookout for quality front-rowers - especially given the uncertainty surrounding Stefano Utoikamanu.
Instead, Mooney's had to bide his time, but has started to build his minutes in first-grade playing off the Raiders bench - averaging 29 minutes per game this season.
"It's a great signing for our future. When Trey told me he was going to accept and stay, I know he had a lot of clubs chasing him and there was a lot of clubs out there he would've walked into their starting pack each week," Stuart said.
"But he's made a really courageous decision to keep being challenged by players such as Josh Papali'i, Joe Tapine, Emre Guler.
"He's accepted the challenge to keep learning under those players and I'm very fortunate that he's taken that challenge on as his coach because he's a great young talent and he's got a long career ahead of him and I'm glad to have him as a Raider."
Tapine said it wouldn't have been an easy decision for Mooney to stay and bide his time behind the likes of Papali'i and himself.
He relished the chance to help mentor Mooney - just as he had great teachers himself when he was coming up through the ranks both at the Raiders and at his previous club Newcastle.
Tapine said Mooney would get more and more opportunities going forward given he was 30 and Papali'i was 32.
Stuart has used Papali'i to get impact off the bench - and add experience to it - in recent weeks.
"That'd be a hard decision. He's obviously thought it through and thought hard," Tapine said.
"I think it's a great opportunity for him too. He's pushed his way into the team this year and he's kept that spot through his performances.
"Me and Papa aren't getting any younger so there'll be more minutes to come in the future."